Stephens named finalist for USOC honor
After reaching her second career Grand Slam final at the French Open, top-ranked American Sloane Stephens has been named a finalist for the U.S. Olympic Committee's Female Athlete of the Month award for June.
The Florida native backed up her maiden Slam title at last summer's US Open by reaching her second career major final in Paris. Though she fell to world No. 1 Simona Halep in a three-set championship battle, Stephens dropped just one set in her six matches en route to the final.
The 25-year-old took out three Top 25 opponents in succession to reach the championship round, using her steady game to knock off Estonia's Anett Kontaveit, Russia's Daria Kasatkina and American Madison Keys, each in straight sets.
The final run earned Stephens a career-high WTA ranking of No. 4 and made her the top-ranked American woman for the first time in her career. She also became the first American other than Venus or Serena Williams to be ranked in the WTA's Top 5 since 2006.
The U.S. Olympic Committee is now recognizing Stephens as part of its Team USA Awards presented by Dow.
She is among five finalists for the Female Athlete of the Month honor, alongside swimmer Haley Anderson, para track and field athlete Breanna Clark, triathlete Katie Zaferes and badminton ace Beiwen Zhang. There is also an award presented for Male Athlete of the Month and Team of the Month.
A fan vote will now help decide the winners of each award, with voting open until midnight on July 9.
Show your support for Sloane and Team USA by casting your vote at Awards.TeamUSA.org.
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